Glossary of Common Tax Terms

The definitions provided on this and other Assessor Department web pages are merely general explanations of common tax terms used by the City of Midland. They are not meant to be construed as legally-binding explanations.

Appeal by Letter

You may appeal your property assessment or taxable value to the local Board of Review in person (by appointment) or by letter.

The Board of Review meets the second Monday in March each year for the purpose of considering appeals.

The SEV is the Assessed Value that has been adjusted or “equalized” by the County and State through a process that assures that assessments, for every class of property, are uniformly assessed at 50% of true cash value.

After the assessment rolls of local jurisdictions are reviewed and approved (through the equalization process) by the County and State, the Assessed Values become the State Equalized Values.

Tax Day

December 31 is called "tax day."

The status of a property on December 31 determines the following year’s values and taxes.

A property's status can be determined by the existence of structures on the property, the condition of those structures, and local market influences.

Taxable Value (TV)

The value used to calculate property taxes. By Michigan statute, the taxable value is to be calculated based on the prior year’s taxable value.

A property's taxable value for a given year is last year’s taxable value times the Consumer Price Index, or 5%, whichever is less.